Sheriff - "When I'm with You"

Sheriff
"When I'm with You"
#1 (February 4, 1989)

Arena rock. It dominated the 80s. And it produced one particular #1 hit from a band that would never score another hit again.

Sheriff originally released "When I'm with You" in 1983 as the third single from their self-titled debut album. However, it stalled at #61 and disappointed with their lack of success, Sheriff broke up.

However, there was still one more light of hope for Sheriff. In 1988, a Las Vegas disc jockey started playing the song. Other stations followed, and the soon the song rose sky high to the top of the charts (see Benny Mardones's "Into the Night" for a similar phenomenon). However, band members Lanni and Wolf Hassell had since formed another band, and declined to reform the group. And without their permission, the idea of reforming Sheriff was destroyed, and "When I'm with You" was still their only hit.

However, band members Freddy Curci and Steve DeMarchi would then form Alias and peak #2 with yet arena rock song, "More Than Words Can Say".

"When I'm with You" is arena rock at its best, featuring the standard soft opening and the fact that the song gets louder as it progresses. Not to mention the high notes that Freddy hits at the end of the song. In fact, he's currently in the Guinness Book of World Records for "Longest Note in a Pop Song". Impressive.

Benny Mardones - "Into the Night"

Benny Mardones
"Into the Night"
#11 (September 6, 1980)

Benny Mardones is an interesting case of a one-hit wonder. He actually hit the top 40 twice - with the same song. So in this case, he's still a one-hit wonder, because he still only has one song.

You probably may be wondering: why it did reach the Top 40 twice anyway? Well, this is how it happened.

In 1989, KZZP, a radio station in Arizona, ran a segment titled "Where Are They Now?" (a question most people are asking about even 90s one hit wonders right now) The most popular question was "Whatever happened to the guy who sang 'Into the Night'?" Scott Shannon, then program director for Pirate Radio in Los Angeles, added "Into the Night" to its playlist. Radio stations across the country followed suit and "Into the Night" was once again a hit.

So now let's go to what I think of the song.

"Into the Night" is definitely in my top 5 of the best one-hit wonder of the 80s. Mardones's bluesy vocals match the mood of the song, and the chorus lifts me up. It's always a pleasure to scan through stations and find "Into the Night".

Apparently Usher did a version of the song. I won't say he butchered it, but I definitely prefer the Benny Mardones version.